


Insurrection

by Daecus



Series: New Age [3]
Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen, New Age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-08
Updated: 2013-07-08
Packaged: 2018-02-09 06:49:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1972998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daecus/pseuds/Daecus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spoilers: If you haven't watched "Evolution," you should, so I don't ruin things for you.<br/>Jetstream is still unaffiliated, and the Decepticons are trying to catch him. Sorry about how long it is...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Insurrection

        "Soundwave, I would like you to scan the planet for any new energon readings,"Megatron commanded his communications officer. The tacit Stealthconshowed the planetary scan on his visor, but no results appeared.

        "Figures." Knockout butt in.

        "Knockout, just what are you doing outside of your station? I haven't asked you to do anything, now have I?" Megatron snarled.

        "Well, I heard about our newest enemy. You said he had a Decepticon insignia, is that correct?" Knockout ignored Megatron's aggressive tone. "Yes, one of our own, but what does that have anything to do with it?"

        "I just had an idea concerning how to catch this guy," Knockout led on.

        "Yes?"

        "Autobots are pretty easy to catch. They lack finesse and discretion, but Decepticons are slightly harder, and from the sound of it, you've got a Stealthcon on your

hands, and a pretty good one at that. To catch a Decepticon, you need a Decepticon, and to catch a Stealthcon, you need a Stealthcon." Knockout gestured towards Soundwave.

        "And we have just the guy to do it." Everyone looked at Soundwave, who simply stood erect, awaiting his master's orders.

        "Very good, Knockout, but I won't just jeopardize my most loyal asset for such an

unknown. I'll need someone to draw our target out so he doesn't catch onto our plans."

        "Oh, goodie! I'll tell Screamy," Knockout smiled, thinking about the look on Starscream's face when he would find out-

        "No, Knockout," Megatron interrupted the Aston Martin's thoughts. "You are the

one who came up with the plan, so I hold you responsible for it."

        "You mean... I'm going to be the bait?" Knockout said incredulously.

        "You'd better get a move on. I'll get Shockwave to send a decoy Predacon part." Megatron turned to face his communications officer. "And you know what to do, Soundwave." The stealth mech merely nodded and returned to his station to prep his smaller spy plane, Laserbeak, which he used when he wanted a less conspicuous pair of eyes to complete his tasks. All Soundwave had to do was figure out who this mystery Stealthcon was and assess the best way to terminate him. He would succeed at this task, just as he had always done for Lord Megatron. Soundwave went back to work, already brewing ways to catch the small fry for his master.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Meanwhile, Jetstream had something else planned. He decided to activate a space bridge onto the Nemesis and send his Buggers for an interior scan. They would then fly out and come back to the Spirit via another space bridge. This time, Jetstream would send just his Buggers and orchestrate the operations from afar. A blip appeared on Jet's holographic projection of the earth. Excellent, a distraction to attract a portion of the Decepticon forces so no one would notice the little visitors flitting about in their ship. No way was he going out after the fiasco that happened last time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Where is he?" Knockout quickly got tired of waiting. He had better things to do, like polish his finish and clean out his headlights.

        {Patience,} Soundwave messaged to the Aston Martin, who groaned and leaned on his electromagnetic spear.

        "Soundwave, has Laserbeak picked anything up, yet?" Megatron checked in.

        {Negative.}

        "Well then, keep at it. I don't want this disgrace of a Decepticon slipping from our

hands, again." Megatron cut the comm system. He stood by in the Nemesis so as not to

scare his quarry. The Decepticon ruler looked forward to the reception he had prepared for the offender with sadistic delight and waited expectantly for results. If this failed, he would kick Knockout's can.

        "Why does this guy have to take so long?" the Aston Martin asked ambiguously. He started to regret ever telling Megatron of his plan. If he came back empty-handed again... He shuddered as he imagined the horrible things that would happen to his beautiful chassis.

        {Silence recommended. A good stealth mech surveys the actions of his enemies before engaging. If you do not act as if you are excavating, he may pick up on our ruse.}

        Knockout sighed. "Very well." He turned to the Decepticon drones put in place, who were simply using mining tools to dig at bare rock. "Put your backs into it, I know you can do better than that!" He leaned back against the spear again, more apprehensive than bored, waiting for something to happen.

        {Autobots detected,} Soundwave suddenly noted, and Knockout sprung to life.    "What where?"

        {2 clicks North.}

        "Finally, some action!" Knockout transformed into his Vehicular Mode and zoomed

off. The drones followed him, for they, too were growing tired of digging at nothing.

        {Will remain here when Stealthcon takes advantage of situation.} Soundwave

ordered Laserbeak to circle his position with a tighter radius. There was no way he would miss the visitor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Hey, guys? All cameras fried?" Jetstream managed four projected screens, each showing a different set of data. All of the Buggers' lights winked green, signaling an affirmative. "Excellent. Proceed with caution. Circumvent detection at all expense." The lights winked once more in consensus. "Tap and bug cameras. Sections 1A and 5C, perform extensive scans. Link me to wiring in mainframe." Jetstream tapped in several commands to get into the Nemesis's system undetected. He updated his files and brought new ones in, scrubbing each one for bugs so no one would be able to track him. "Alright, sever me from their network." Green winks came and went as he issued several commands, and all things ran smoothly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        For the Decepticons, it was different.

        Here, Knockout had to deal with pesky Autobots while Soundwave sat back on his aft waiting for their mystery man to show up. It was not long before the Autobots had him cornered. "Soundwave, I could use some help!" he called over the comm.

        Soundwave debated the relative values of Knockout and the fugitive. He let out a

soundless sigh as he transformed into his Avian Mode and went to help his imperiled team member. Knockout was the only 'Con with any training in the medical field. Aston Martin it was. He ordered Laserbeak to provide surveillance while he was away. As he neared his destination, Soundwave let loose a salvo of energy blasts at the Autobots who were closing in on Knockout.

        The attacking Autobots scattered to hide against cover as they took turns shooting at Soundwave flying above. He engaged in evasive maneuvers as beams shot through the sky, but he did not anticipate the shot that came in from behind, which damaged his thruster and rendered Avian Mode useless. Realizing that the stakes were not worth the quarry, Soundwave opened a space bridge for him, Laserbeak, and Knockout to retreat through.

        "Huh, they didn't want it that badly, I guess," Smokescreen noted as the rest of the Autobots came out from cover. "So where is the Predacon part?" he wondered.

        "There isn't one," Arcee discovered. The blue female two-wheeler picked up a device transmitting the signal. "It's a decoy."

        "But why would the 'Cons just up and leave? If it's a decoy, then they wanted to lure us, right? But there's no trap," Smokescreen mused.

        "That is because they were expecting one arrival, not three," Optimus concluded, walking up to the two Autobots conversing.

        "Do you mean it was for... that other guy?" Arcee asked.

        "That would be a reasonable assumption." Optimus turned to gaze at the skies. "Which means our friend may be in imminent peril." He felt a certain sadness, knowing he had no way of warning the stranger who had helped them.

        "He's a 'Con isn't he? Once a 'Con, always a 'Con. Just look at Starscream," Arcee said definitively. She placed her finger on her audio sensor. "Ratchet, open a ground bridge. There's nothing here," Arcee said. The portal opened, and the three returned to their base.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Good job, guys. Just place the charges and depart," ordered Jetstream to his creations as they wrapped up their mission. All things had gone according to plan, and Jet sat quite pleased with himself and his luck. Suddenly, a blip appeared on his map.

        _What do we have here?_ Jet thought as he brought the ship to assess the occurrence.

\-----------------------------------------------------

ANOMALY DETECTED: ABNORMAL ENERGON SIGNATURE ENTERING

>> SCAN "ANOMALY"

SCANNING... DONE. RESULTS: CYBERTRONIAN RELIC

\---------------------------------

        Jetstream leaned back, juxtaposing the possible outcomes. On one hand, it could be a trap, while on the other, he could not just rely on the small coalition of Autobots to keep whatever weapon of possible mass destruction from Decepticon hands. Personal safety or galaxy's safety?

        Fine.

        As his Buggers flew back from their mission, all glowing green to show positive status, Jetstream prepped the space bridge coordinates to open in an area just south of the detected anomaly. Of course, he took his signal neutralizer, just in case. The Buggers quizzically tilted their heads at their creator as he departed for a new mission just after finishing another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Snow. It had to be snow. Fragging precipitation. Jetstream always hated getting wet, so he hurried to his destination and found a relatively dry spot to investigate his surroundings. So far so good. Jetstream leapt from his cover over to where the pod containing the artifact had landed. He was about to open it, but he heard something... Jetstream extended his katar claws and deflected a huge feeler that bore down on him. He sliced part of it off and jumped away as another feeler came for him. A figure leapt out of the swirling snow to engage Jetstream further. The thin frame of a tall flyer landed firmly on the ground. It retracted its wounded feeler in addition to its unharmed one.

        "Bugger 061: analyze," Jetstream said aloud. He talked to the Bugger that he had brought along for data recording. His attacker paused in confusion for a second, trying to process the applications of Jet's dialogue, but resumed attacking once the aggressor could not think of anything relevant. Jet simply leapt out of the assailant's way, buying time before striking.

     ANALYSIS COMPETE. FEEDING...

NAME: SOUNDWAVE

GENDER: MALE

TYPE: STEALTH

MECH WEAPONS: DRONE LASERBEAK,

TUBE FEELERS

TRANSFORMATION: STEALTH AIRCRAFT

TRANSFORMATION WEAPONS: DRONE LASERBEAK, CLASS B LASER BLASTER

        "Excellent!" Jet commended his Bugger, which caused more confusion for his attacker, granting Jetstream the advantage. He moved as quickly as the wind, slicing like the cold through his opponent. He let his claws sink into his victim's soft metal and stood there for a while before retracting his claws. Soundwave fell to his knees as energon dripped from his chest. Jetstream was about to finish him, but a feeler lashed out, knocking him back before he could do so. Soundwave stood up more easily than Jetstream had thought was possible.

        _But how?_ It was Jetstream's turn to be confused. Abruptly, something fell off of Soundwave's chest. It let out a high-pitched whine in agony before going offline.That must have been Soundwave's drone,Jet realized. He looked to Soundwave's actual chest, which only had superficial lacerations. A sharp pain brought Jet's attention to his own wound from Soundwave's undamaged feeler. He looked to his abdomen and, sure enough, found energon seeping through a hole. He tried with difficulty to stand but to no avail. He was a goner.

        Jet heard a crash.

        No, it was not Soundwave's finishing move; another mech had entered the fray of battle. The small novice Autobot Jet had saved a while back did not seem to stand much of a chance against Soundwave, an experienced fighter. While the Autobot distracted the 'Con, Jet stood with effort and scuttled as quickly as he could to the Cybertronian artifact.

        The blade was shaped like a long, flat tooth attached to a rod. With Jetstream's touch, the rod extended and the artifact became a scythe. Cool!

        Jet looked towards the battle that was taking place between Soundwave and the new arrival, who was losing ground. In order to return the favor, Jet pushed himself off of the ground and dropkicked Soundwave before he could do any further harm to the Autobot. Soundwave bounced on the ground and slid across the snowy tundra. Jet turned his head towards the Autobot, who was recuperating from Soundwave's attacks. He appeared to be functional, so Jet turned his attention back to Soundwave just before a foot landed on his face. Jet skidded across the icy plain much further than what he would have predicted. Great, he was on ice. He rose to confront his attacker, Jet's feet unsteady from the slippery domain on which he stood. He slipped several times before gaining good traction on his peds.

 _This is why I hate-_ Jetstream thought as he raised his scythe above his head. _-dihydrogen monoxide!_ Jet brought the blade down on the ice with a wave of force, making its sheer surface crack. Soundwave transformed into his Avian Mode before the enlarging crevasse swallowed him, which allowed Jetstream enough time to launch himself towardsSoundwave by propelling his bodywith the thrusters attached to his feet. He swung but narrowly missed as Soundwave attempted to retreat into a space bridge hehadopened.

Jetstream reached to grab a weapon attached to his back. It looked like a circular ring, but when he turned it on, it became a giantenergon-poweredfuumashuriken.He threw it at Soundwave, hoping it would catch up to him before the space bridge closed, but it missed its mark.

Disappointed that he had failed to terminate his opponent, Jetstream strolled to where his energon shuriken had landed. He did not acknowledge the Autobot that had helped him nor the one that had joined his comrade until he had retrieved what belonged to him and assessed the circumstances.

        Should he help the fallen Autobot? The Autobots had a means to go back, so he

would be fine. On the other hand, Jet could gain favorability for helping them out. As he pondered this, the two approached him warily without him noticing.

        "Uh, hello?" The smaller Autobot who had distracted Soundwave for him waved a hand in front of Jetstream's face, snapping him out of his cognitive processes. Jet turned towards the pair of 'Bots with qualified curiosity.

        They had gotten too close, so he took a step back. The large Autobot spoke, "Are you alright? Do you need medical assistance?" The Autobot's voice possessed a quality of authoritative concern, almost paternal. Jet would not fall for their feigned hospitality, however: he had gotten suckered into the Autobots' grasp before.

        "I believe... this would be safer in your hands." Jet's voice sounded very light to the Autobots, almost like a loud whisper. It had the airy quality of what a human would call whipped cream. Jet extended his arm to offer the scythe he had recovered. The small Autobot responded by enabling his weapons, to which Jet acted in kind. They stood in aggravated tension for a few seconds before Jet said, "How about we don't try anything funny and no one gets hurt?"

        The two both lowered their weapons slowly. Jetstream changed his mind about giving the scythe to the Autobots. Much to his surprise, the bigger Autobot said, "It seems that you can handle the weapon with much more ease than I know any of ours can. I would prefer that you keep it."

        Jetstream nodded. "Much appreciated." He turned to go, but he felt the large Autobot's hand on his shoulder. He instinctively knocked the hand off and leaped, transforming and opening a space bridge for himself in the air.

        "What? Why'd you let him keep it? That's dangerous!" the small Autobot, named Smokescreen reasoned.

        "If he wanted us offline, he would not have spoken with us, much less offered for us to keep whatever relic is now in his possession," the large Autobot, Optimus Prime, spoke with wisdom. "He is not like Starscream, nor any other Decepticons, although he still bears their mark."

        "It's probably all just a trick! Don't you see? In my day back in Iacon, I reported plenty of double agents."

        "Then tell me, Smokescreen, why did he save you after you saved him?"

        "He didn't save me. I could've taken on Soundwave! Besides, he could be saving the death-blow for later, when he has all of our trust."

        "The other side of the story remains to be seen," Optimus put simply.

        Smokescreen threw his hands up in frustration. "Why did you try to stop him from walking away, anyways?"

        "He needs to be warned of an impending danger."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Gah, frag!" Jetstream yelped in pain as he tried to fix the wound from which energon still dripped out. Buggers were scurrying about on him as they were working to fix the wound, but they were tickling him as they did so, making it itch like crazy.

        He had not even had time to fully analyze his new scythe. Jetstream sighed. He should have seen that feeler coming. He replayed the event in his mind. The bad guys in movies always lost because they wasted time just before the death-blow. He had made the same mistake.

        Jet tilted his head back. _The same mistake as fragging villain stereotypes._

        PING! An alarm sounded. A Cybertronian had arrived on his island. _Okay, don't panic. Maybe they're just lost-_ Several more pings appeared. Yup, they were definitely after him. Jetstream jolted from his seat and grabbed his scythe. He scanned the surface and spotted a blipping tracker on it. _Scrap._

        Jet pondered his next course of action as he prepped his weapons. Could he fly the

ship somewhere else? No, he was not familiar enough with this planet's geography to determine another safe place to land without the Decepticons following, and no cloud cover would hide a ship of the Spirit's size for very long. Maybe he could put it in stealth mode and get away? The reflection camouflage system was mediocre at best, so any observant 'Con could see a distortion in light as the Spirit flew off. Maybe use a speed

that the 'Cons could not follow? No, he did not have enough energon to both escape and make repairs for possible damage. Recalibrate and autopilot? It would take a while for the Spirit to recalibrate a different location to perch, but it seemed like the only option. He would make it remain in stealth mode and set it to fly away without him when it finished calculating. Hopefully, he could handle the Decepticon forces. Unfortunately for him, he was extremely paranoid, so any scanning information saved onto the Spirit's systems were wiped every hour, meaning he could not pull up the information of alternate landing zones which the ship had found on the light cycle of his arrival.

        Yeah, he would fix that when he got back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "That was a very good move for you to bug the relic, Soundwave. Although we lost it in the short run, we will very soon get it back," the Decepticon leader, Megatron, commended his information officer while his glare demeaned the Nemesis's medic.

        "Knockout, fix Soundwave's wounds immediately, and make repairs on Laserbeak after you're finished with him." Knockout very willingly obliged to get out of Megatron's way as he stepped forward. "I'm going to take care of our newest nuisance once and for all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Decepticons are moving very quickly," Ratchet noted.

        "Again?!" Smokescreen exclaimed.

        "Today must be a busy day to be a Decepticon," a white Wrecker named Wheeljack commented.

        "It seems to be another large-scale attack. You'll need everyone for this, Optimus," recommended Ratchet.

        "Understood. Autobots, prepare for battle," Optimus ordered as his face plate locked into place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Seeker swarms at the ready!" Megatron's second-in-command, Starscream ordered the troops under his control. He turned to his master. "Are you sure we need this many of our forces for one man?"

        "Whatever it takes, Starscream. Whatever it takes."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        KABOOM!!!

        "By the All-Spark! What have I done wrong to deserve this?" Jetstream was near to panic as he hid behind an outcropping of rock. He crushed the tracking device from the scythe under his foot. He had led them far enough from the Spirit.

        _Okay, calm down. You can do this. All you have to do is hold them off and then-_

        BOOOM! Another blast of lasers hit the rock near him, blowing it to smithereens. Jetstream transformed and flew upwards as laser shots dashed through the air. He shot lasers downwards and took out several ground troops, but shots came from all directions as the seekers closed in on him.

 _Frag my life!_ Jetstream thought as he barrel-rolled to evade the seekers' shots. He shot at them, too, but there were so many, and he was getting so tired... He could not hope to keep this up for much longer, andhe hadpracticallyno plan.

It was just kill, the simplest plan he could think of. At least he could do that well.He had not been hired as an assassin multiple times back on Cybertron for nothing. He could handle when things got out of hand, but for how long?

        Something caught his attention at the corner of his eye. The familiar green vortex of a ground bridge opened up. _They have more?!_ Jetstream despaired.

        KTHOOM! The barrage of energy blasts hit him in the rear thruster, sending him spiraling downwards. He would crash-land soon. Jetstream transformed into his Mech Mode so he could get an aim at his attackers behind him. He shot them all down as he streaked across the sky like a meteor. Using his unharmed thruster on his good leg, he turned around to clear his landing zone. He took out a few Troopers before finally landing on one of them to halt his momentum.

        Jetstream tried to defend himself against the remaining ground troops, but more just kept on coming. He took shot after shot as he tried to escape. Oh, and his good foot was also stuck inside the chest cavity of the Trooper he had landed on. It was hard enough trying to get the dead 'Con's body off his foot, but it was even harder with his damaged thruster on the other one. Now he had to limp away into some sort of cover as energon oozed from his injuries.

        Luckily, he had landed far enough so he could get out of their sights, even with his impaired mobility. That was when he spotted it: a cavern. It was not perfect, but he could make his last stand there. He took cover behind yet another rock, knowing that this was probably his final solar cycle. When he tried to stand, he did not have the strength.

        So, he would not go out with a bang.

        Jetstream leaned against the cold, hard rock walls of the cavern and awaited his demise.

        "Frag my life."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Little did Jetstream know that the ground bridge that had engendered his distraction was that of the Autobots, who had seen Jetstream's fall and rushed into action. Chaos played everywhere across the battlefield as the Autobots thinned the surprised Decepticons' ranks. They managed to take out the remainder of the seekers in the sky before someone came around to stop them. The head seeker transformed and landed in front of them. A Cybertronian aircraft followed suit.

        "Ah, Autobots. Why do you always have to intrude in Decepticon business?"

        "Any business of yours is ours, Starscream," Wheeljack answered.

        "Always, on top of things, I see, Optimus," Megatron addressed the Autobot leader.

        "What do you want?" Arcee asked, as all of the Autobots wielded their weapons while the Decepticons made casual conversation.

        Megatron walked towards Optimus Prime in an eerily non-threatening way. "How

about we strike a deal? You help me find a certain traitor amongst my ranks and I'll give

you the energon from one of our mines."

        Starscream piped up. "You are low in supply, am I correct?" The Autobots all turned to Optimus to state their opinion.

        "Optimus, we need that energon," Arcee reminded.

        "It's just one 'Con for the good of all of us, Optimus," Bulkhead added.

        Optimus knew all the stakes, but his morals would not let him betray the stranger that had helped them in more than one circumstance.He had made his decision.

        "Megatron, I cannot accept your offer," he said, and the others groaned.

        Megatron narrowed his eyes. "Then you will suffer the same fate as he." The Decepticon dictator transformed and left Starscream along with the ground reinforcements. Optimus flew after Megatron using his new aerial capabilities.

        Optimus pulled out his Gatling gun and fired at Megatron, who started to escape. Optimus increased his speed in pursuit of his nemesis. Realizing that Optimus would catch up, Megatron dipped down to land and transformed back into Mech Mode, taking aim and firing at his adversary. Then, he jumped in the air as Optimus drew closer, wielding his blade as he did so. Optimus tried to slow down in mid-air, but the lack of friction he was so used to on land took a toll on the fledgling flyer.

        Fortunately, Optimus narrowly scraped by and received only a minor injury. As Megatron descended from his jump, Optimus wielded his gun again and rained bullets down on his archenemy, still in mid-air. His shots hit their mark as Megatron fell.

        Amply wounded, Megatron ordered his remaining troops to attack Optimus as he retreated into a space bridge. Optimus took care of the Decepticon forces single-handedly without a problem as the Autobots caught up with him.

        "This guy better be worth something," Bulkhead said.

        "Ratchet, can you pick up any other energon signal on the island?" Optimus asked via his comm link.

        "No, nothing. All of the Decepticons have retreated. Wait, hang on. I almost missed it. There's a weak energon signal a few clicks to the north."

        "Thank you, old friend." Optimus turned to his force and addressed them, "Autobots, roll out." He then transformed and the rest of his team followed to scout the area.

        It did not take long for them to discover bodies of Decepticon drones scattered about and a trail of energon leading into a cave. The Autobots transformed back into Mech Mode. Everyone looked at Optimus, wondering what he would do. "We know you are in there. The Decepticons have left. You are no longer in danger." Silence, nothing but the frigid air whipping through. Optimus took several steps closer and said, "Come out with unarmed and no harm will come to you." Again, silence.

        "I don't think anyone's in there," Arcee said, but Optimus held his hand up, and, sure enough, heard shuffling within the cavern.

        Optimus resumed his pace towards the entrance. The others followed after him, but he held his hand up to make them stay back. He kept walking and soon had the navy flyer in his visuals. Now, he could see why the Cybertronian had not gotten up.

        The mech's foot lay submerged in its own energon. Several holes pockmarked random areas in the mech's frame.

        "We are not trying to hurt you," Optimus said calmly, but the 'Con kept sliding away from him. Finally, his back hit the end of the cave, and Optimus picked him up. At first, the wounded 'Con struggled, but the effort lapsed him into a state of shock and caused him to go offline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Ratchet, upon seeing the Decepticon insignia on the unconscious mech's shoulder, reacted adversely to the new patient. "Are you crazy, Optimus? Bringing a Decepticon into the base?!"

        "You have the necessary tools to keep him in stasis until you finish, correct?"

        "Yeah, but-"

        "And we can restrain him when he awakes?"

        "Yes, but-"

        "Then please, take care of him." Everyone stared Optimus. He rarely employed such insistency when issuing orders.

        "Don't you know how little energon we even have left? Why should we waste our precious reserves on a 'Con?"

        Optimus gripped his friend's shoulders. "I am asking you to trust me on this one, old friend," he simply said. With that, Ratchet turned to work on the leaking patient who lay on the operating table out cold.

        "Hey, what's with all the ruckus?" Agent Fowler emerged from his office to see the origin of all the commotion. He saw the navy blue flyer laying prostrate on the table and conveyed his surprise. "I didn't know Autobots other than Optimus could fly," noting the flyer's wings. "Who's the new guy?"

        "A Decepticon whose origins we don't know," Ratchet stated, anticipating a livid response from the governmental agent.

        His prediction could not have been more correct. "A 'Con!" It was more of an exclamation than a question. "I thought we were supposed to be fighting with these guys, not fixing them up so they can fight us, again!"

        "Take it up with Optimus," Ratchet stated as he continued patching the 'Con's chassis. He did not want to deal with the prattling human at the time.

        "Optimus, what in Abraham Lincoln's beard is going on?" Agent Fowler demanded.

        "Agent Fowler, I have seen this one in battle against the Decepticons. This one is different," Optimus replied.

        "How do you know the 'Con won't rear up and attack us when Ratchet's done?" asked the agent, concerned for everyone's well-being.

        "There are more than enough of us here, and he will be under restraints until we hear his side of the story. Then, we can decide whether he is hostile or friendly."

        "You're actually going to listen to him? You do realize that they're called Decepticons for a reason, right?" said Fowler, referring to the great ease with which 'Cons could lie.

        "I have dealt with their kind for a long time. I would know when one lies," noted the wizened Autobot leader, asking Fowler to trust him. The agent begrudgingly agreed and walked back into his office.

        "I think this one is a she," said Arcee suddenly. "Her voice is pretty high."

        Smokescreen disagreed. "No, it's a he. His voice is just light, that's all." A heated discussion took place regarding the nature of the new arrival/prisoner as the Autobots went about their regular routine, glancing at the patient laying on Ratchet's table to note the progress so they could settle their disputes.

        Finally, after an hour or two, the doctor finished. "There. It took a while, but he's stable now. I have him on stasis for now until you want to talk to him. The restraints are active, as well." Ratchet looked squarely at Optimus. "I hope you know what you're doing." The 'Con's limp framehad been moved to a seat with restraints.

        The Autobot leader nodded and said immediately, "Ratchet, could you bring him online?" The doctor complied as he tapped a few buttons on a terminal. The 'Con's spark rate rose as he gained consciousness and realized his situation.

        "It is alright. We are not going to hurt you," Optimus tried. The 'Con tugged at the restraints.

        "If I don't give you whatyou want," the 'Con concluded.

        "Soldier, you are not here for ransom. We just would like to ask a few questions." Intrigued as to what questions the Autobots would pose, the 'Con relaxed and nodded his head. It was not really a nod, more like a checkmark made with the head.

        Now that their guest/captive was ready to converse, Smokescreen asked the first question. "Are you a dude or a chick?" Everyone looked at him with weird expressions. "What? Admit it! You all want to know!"

        The 'Con chuckled, actually laughed, at the scene, despite his circumstances. "I am of male gender, sir" he replied.

        The group of Autobots lost a bit of their tension as they noticed that the 'Con had

lost his.

        "Told ya," Smokescreen audibly whispered to Arcee. He piped up again. "What's your face look like?" Everyone again looked at Smokescreen for the frivolousness of the question.

        Jetstream replied, "Sorry, sir. You don't want to know." The Autobots did not press the issue due to its inconsequential standing.

        "What is your name, soldier?" Optimus inquired. The 'Con paused for a while, deliberating.

        "He asked you a question. You are in no position to abstain," Ultra Magnus, a stickler for respect, hissed. He abhorred his superior's decision but would never dare question Optimus Prime.

        "My apologies, sir. I have not been called by my name for a long time. I'm trying to remember..." He turned his head to the ceiling, thinking pensively amidst the Autobots' incredulity. "I think it started with a J. J-E—Oh, yes! It's Jetstream, but I also go by Jet," said Jetstream with a completely conversational tone.

        "Why are you here?" Arcee wanted to know the answer to the real questions, skipping the idle chat of her fellow teammates.

        "Heavy Decepticon influence," Jetstream put vaguely.

        Annoyed at his simplicity, Arcee pushed further. "So are you with them or against them?" she said, her voice portraying that of hostility.

        "I don't think, given the nature of our meeting, that you would believe my story, no matter what I say," Jet admitted. "I believe, however that maybe you should discern yourselves." Jet's head centered in alignment, recalling an obscure thought. "Autobot Military Record A-0188299, Project: Twisted Edge, Class D Division: Splinter Cell Psi. Dossier: Jetstream."

        Ratchet, meanwhile, pulled up said record and viewed the dossier.Ratchet read,

" 'ANALYSIS:

SUBJECT VIEWED AS INTEGRAL PART OF PROJECT TWISTED EDGE. SUBJECT

MAINTAINS QUESTIONABLE ETHICS AND DOES NOT COOPERATE IN TEAM-MEDIATED ASSIGNMENTS. SUBJECT PERFORMS BEST ALONE AND COMPLETES TASKS UNQUESTIONINGLY. SUBJECT SPECIALIZES IN STEALTH AND RETRIEVAL WITHOUT DETECTION.

ABILITIES:

SUBJECT CAN ESCAPE CAPTURE AS WELL AS ESCAPE FROM CAPTURE. BEST TO EMPLOY FOR GUERILLA TACTICS AND INFORMATION RETRIEVAL.

LOGGED:

SOLAR CYCLE 115.75120 ENGAGED IN THEFT

SOLAR CYCLE 115.82503 ENGAGED IN THEFT

SOLAR CYCLE 115.97321 CAUGHT IN UNAUTHORIZED AREA

SOLAR CYCLE 127.97012 ENGAGED IN ACT OF VIOLENCE

SOLAR CYCLE 127.97891 DETAINED IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

SOLAR CYCLE 142.42424 RELEASED FROM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, RETURN TO SERVICE

STATUS:

KILLED IN ACTION.'"

Everyone turned to Jetstream, who sat now unrestrained, legs crossed, and elbow on his knee. He was the one who spoke first. "As you can see, it is an extremely bad idea for you to be around me. I'm more trouble than I'm worth, so if you let me go-"

        "We're not done with you, yet," Wheeljack cut in with a flat tone, to which Jetstream sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.

        "Jetstream, is this all true?" Optimus asked.

        "Well, I disagree with one of the thefts and act of violence, but the rest is true, other than the 'Killed in Action' part. But of course, I could have just fabricated it because, you know, I'm a Decepticon."

        "So why are you listed as KIA, anyways?" Ratchet poked curiously.

        Jetstream sighed. "When Optimus Prime called for every Cybertronian to evacuate, the others, even my superiors, wouldn't take me with them. They said that since I still wore the Decepticon symbol, then I deserved the fate of rotting away like their home world. They probably wanted me dead and presumed me so without a second thought."

        "Wow, that's rough, buddy," Smokescreen sympathized. Jetstream simply nodded. "So wait, you know Optimus is right here, right? That he's the one that saved you?"

        "Really? Which one is he?" Jet spoke politely. Smokescreen stood in bewilderment at the possibility that anyone would not know the celebrity's image by spark.

        "He's right there." Smokescreen pointed.

        "Oh, nice to meet you," Jet said cordially.

        This 'Con was getting weirder by the second.

        {Do you by chance use mechanical beetles?} Bumblebee decided to change the subject. Jetstream responded by opening his chest compartment and whistling, which called his Bugger out. He then closed his chest after the Bugger landed in his palm.

        "Anyone else?" Everyone remained silent. "May I ask some questions of my own?" The 'Bot leader nodded. "What resources did you use to fix me?" Jetstream stood and faced the doctor. Ratchet said grumpily, "Three energon cubes."

        Jetstream called his Bugger to attention and asked, "How many do we have?" The Bugger squeaked something unintelligibly. "Is the Spirit safe?" The Bugger paused before winking green and conveying additional information. "Bring fifty." Jetstream simply said. The Autobots stared in disbelief as a space bridge opened up on the ceiling and the Bugger flew in, only to come back out a few seconds later by the dozens, carrying fifty cubes of energon and stacking them in the corner.

        "How did you lock onto our coordinates?!" Ratchet asked disbelievingly. "My ship locked onto my location, sir," Jet replied. He turned to his captors/hosts. "Now, for the real question that's been bugging me as of late: why did you save me?"

        Everyone turned to Optimus. "Because you helped us," the leader replied. Jetstream paused before asking abruptly, "May I leave now?"

        Optimus exhaled through his air vents. "That is what I wanted to talk to you about," he said. Jetstream waited curiously for the full explanation. "The Decepticons seemed intent on reaching you. They will no doubt try to capture you, once more."

        "I can handle myself, sir. I appreciate your concern, though." Jet turned to bypass the group of Autobots but Optimus Prime stopped him.

        Wheeljack clarified, "Not according to what happened back on that island."

        "I made too many mistakes, that's all. I just have to be more careful."

        "They will find you if you work alone, Jetstream, and that is a fact," Optimus Prime stated. As much as Jetstream wanted to, he could not battle the eminent fact. He crossed his arms again in defeat. Optimus continued, "In any event, I think it would be best for you to stay with us for safety."

        A Decepticon in their ranks? Everyone expressed looks of disapproval. Jetstream looked down in thought before looking back up to speak with Optimus.

        "Joining the Autobots would create dissention amidst your ranks, a disadvantage that no military commander can afford, even for the short-term. As an ex-Decepticon, I disagree with many Autobot doctrines, while, as Autobots, you would disagree with mine. It would take quite a bit of patience to 'convert' my ethics over to something less questionable by you. Frankly, I'm more trouble than I'm worth. It would be a mistake for you to take me in. I suggest that you ask your teammates about their opinions before letting me answer." Then, Jet added, "If I were you, I would retract my offer."

        Optimus made a motion with his hand and the Autobots all huddled in a corner to discuss. Smokescreen input his thoughts first. "He's kinda strange, but I think he's being honest enough. It's just one more guy. How bad could it be?"

        "Very bad very quickly," replied a stolid Bulkhead.

        Wheeljack added, "You weren't there when the 'Cons sent a fake me to spy on

everyone. We can't just let another spy amongst our ranks."

        "Well, why would the 'Cons almost fatally wound one of theirs just so he could wind up here? I mean, those are some pretty risky odds."

        "You really changed your entire stance on this, didn't you?" Arcee asked.

        "Well, he seems... different, like Optimus said. I also feel kinda sorry for him. I don't think he has anyone else." They looked back at Jetstream to see him sitting absent-mindedly, his legs dangling off of the seat. There was another thing that Smokescreen did not tell the rest of his group, something that he had noticed about the newcomer. It was in that voice of his. Although it was light and airy, it had the weight of a thousand burdens and sorrows. He wondered if Optimus had sensed it, too.

        "What makes you so sure he won't double-cross us?" Arcee asked finally.

        "If Jetstream wanted us down, he would have finished us, already," Optimus

answered. Unfortunately, the Autobots did not have any comebacks to defend their stance with. With such a direct and simple response, how could they refuse their own leader? Optimus spoke again. "Is everyone in agreement?" Smokescreen approved immediately while the other Autobots hesitantly acquiesced.

        They all turned to Jetstream as Optimus said definitively, "Our request stands."

        "Very well. I accept, but only temporarily."

        "Wait, if you were going to accept, then why did you make us do a group huddle?" Bulkhead said warily.

        "I wanted you to evaluate your decision carefully. I personally abhor making mistakes, so I gave you the chance to correct it." Jetstream looked down. "But you didn't." He looked up, again. "Anyways, I am ready for duty on your command, sir." He saluted Optimus. "May I request to know which parts of the base I am and am not allowed?"

        "So you can get caught in another unauthorized area?" Arcee asked sarcastically.

        "Aye, ma'am," Jet responded, but the Autobots were unsure whether Jetstream was

kidding and looked on as Optimus gave the ex-'Con a tour of the base.

        This was going to be one heck of a time.


End file.
